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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. tube — the underground
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. kid — child
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. ball — a great time
  9. march — music
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. kid — to tease
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. ball — a dance
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. tube — a container

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com